[SatNews] Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L) has signed an agreement with Globecomm, appointing the specialized managed satellite services provider as a Value Added Reseller (VAR) for Global Xpress (GX), serving the government market in Africa and the Middle East.

Globecomm is a pioneer in the design and integration of high quality satellite communication systems. With a strong engineering pedigree and expertise in cellular networks, satellite networks, mobile satellite communications and content delivery systems, Globecomm is able to design, install and support communications solutions for government and military users in the most demanding of situations.

Andy Start, President, Inmarsat Global Government, said, “Globecomm has been an energetic and successful partner of Inmarsat for more than seven years, and its established footprint across many African countries places it ideally to drive early growth of GX services in these exciting and emerging economies. We are very pleased to welcome Globecomm as one of the first GX VARs in the Government sector and look forward to working closely with them as GX goes live in 2014.”

Keith Hall, COO of Globecomm, said, “Globecomm is among the world’s leading providers of Ka-band services and our engineering knowledge of Ka-band systems is second to none. Having GX in our portfolio is a central part of our global government sales strategy. We look forward to working with Inmarsat to grow our respective revenue in the months and years to come.”

Global Xpress will be the first global Ka-band broadband satellite network providing very high bandwidth services to a range of land, maritime and aero terminals, delivered through a resilient, secure waveform which is optimized for mobility. Integrated seamlessly with Inmarsat’s current L-band network, Global Xpress will ensure reliable communications in support of mission critical operations in the most challenging environments.

The first of three Global Xpress satellites is set to launch on 8th December 2013 with global coverage scheduled for the end of 2014.